By the time I became familiar with the music of Jimmy Smith in 1969, Jimmy had already recorded thirty-one (31) albums on the Blue Note label and an addition 25 albums on Verve! So I started with a Greatest Hits Album that covered the Blue Note years. 
The condition of the album cover may give you an idea of how much the album has been used over the years! Anyway the other day I was sifting through my vinyl albums, saw it, cranked up the turntable and gave it a listen. I picked out the side 4 of the second side of the disk to of the album. Actually. that side of the album was not in too bad of shape!!Anyway I gave it a listen and the trumpet on the second track caught my attention the track title was “Flamingo” and the trumpet player was Lee Morgan!! Damn! I knew him way back when!! Then I started to look at the rest of the two-disk album and I found out that I knew several of the musicians that I’ve written about lately, way back then!! Here’s a table……
| Track | Title | Artists |
|---|---|---|
| Side 1-1 | All Day Long | Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
Kenny Burrell – guitar Art Blakey – drums |
| Side 1-2 | The Champ | Thornell Schwartz – guitar
Donald Baily – drums |
| Side 2-1 | The Sermon | Lee Morgan – trumpet
Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone Kenny Burrell – guitar Tina Brooks – tenor saxophone Art Blakey – drums |
| Side 3-1 | Midnight Special | Stanley Turentine – tenor saxophone
Kenny Burrell – guitar Donald Baily – drums |
| Side 3-2 | When Johnny Comes Marching Home | Quentin Warren – guitar
Art Blakey – drums |
| Side 4-1 | Can Heat | Lou Donaldson – alto saxophone
Quentin Warren – guitar Art Blakey – drums |
| Side 4-2 | Flamingo | Lee Morgan – trumpet
Kenny Burrell – guitar Art Blakey – drums |
| Side 4-3 | Prayer Meetin’ | Stanley Turentine – tenor saxophone
Quentin Warren – guitar Donald Bailey – drums |
Of course Jimmy Smith appears on all of the above tracks! Conspicuously, absent are any bass players, Jimmy Smith’s pedal bass lines take over those functions!! I also have provided links to articles I have written about a few of the players!! Bottom line the album has been played a lot over the years, the list of musicians has not been read for MANY years so I forgot I knew a lot of these guys way back when, if you get a chance check out some of the tracks on the original Blue Note recordings, I know I am!! And I need to check out Quentin Warren’s guitar some more!! Here’s a 1964 of Jimmy Smith performing a portion of “The Sermon” BBC TV Jimmy Smith – Hammond Organ; Quentin Warren – guitar; Billy Hart – drums
